A couple of weeks ago I shared a 'How to' for making a clutch with scraps of leather and I promised to share the other ideas I had so here is #2!

I am lucky enough to be aunty to the cutest (ofcourse) little niece ever. So with her in mind I thought I'd make a little pair of moccasins. I would say this was a slightly more time consuming DIY compared to previous projects - having real sized feet would be a great advantage.

So here is what you will need:

Leather (or fabric) Scraps

Shoe soles - if you plan to wear outside

Large needle and thick thread - I used embroidery thread

Hole Punch

Scissors

Ribbon

(pins to hold things in place too)

Step 1.

By using a template (draw round a shoe or foot) cut out and pin to the underside of the leather. Next cut around the template around 1cm/ 3/8" from the edge.

Step 2.

Using the same template pin to the shoe soles and cut around the edge.
Next pin the shoe sole to the corresponding leather sole, making sure the right side of the shoe sole faces out. Taking a needle and thread (I used grey) stitch the two pieces together leaving 0.5cm/ 3/16" around the edge.

Repeat for other sole.

Note: this step can be skipped if you are not planning on using these outdoors or walking.

Step 3.

Once both soles are finished, using a template as a guide cut out the leather for the upper part of the moccasin.

*This was the trickiest part as I didn't have a shoe or little foot as a guide I had to guess how much to use. In the end I didn't use as much as I expected. It all depends on how high you want the moccasins to come up the ankle/leg also. Patience is key here*

With the rounded part at the centre begin to stitch it to the sole. Position the upper so it is face down with the edge on top of the sole, pin to secure if needed.

Using the thread and needle ( I changed to pink to make it more girlie) use large stitches and begin to sew around the sole gather the top so it fits along the shape. Once the whole sole is attached, sew up the back seam. Now the front should look a little strange, this is OK. What I did was made a slit down the centre about 6cm from the base - this may change for different size shoes, I suggest to cut a little then increase if needed - then made a fold with the edge going to the outer edge of the shoe. Secure at sole with extra stitches if needed. Trim round the top of the shoe if you feel it is too high.

Repeat for other shoe.

Step 4.

Next cut two strips of leather 3.5cm/ 1.5" wide. The length should be enough to go around the top of the moccasin. Taking one strip, snip 2.5cm/1" into the strip roughly 1cm/ 3/4" apart to make the fringing. Pin around the edge of the moccasin and stitch with thread.

Repeat for the other side.

Step 5.

Using a hole punch make 6 holes in each shoe - 3 on the top layer and 3 on the under, equally spaced apart. (I decided to use pink ribbon for laces but you could use cord or traditional laces). Using the needle thread the ribbon through the holes and tie a bow at the top.